Integration in Charleston

African Americans integrating into predominantly white schools was a significant achievement for the Civil Rights Movement. Everyone was taught the Brown v. Board court case was the forefront in integrating schools; however, one court case that helped bring attention to integration happen in South Carolina. Almost 90 miles from Charleston, in Clarendon County the topic of school segregation was discussed first during the Briggs v. Elliott case. This court cases began because the bad conditions of the black schools in the area and, because the school district chairman, R.M Elliott refused a plea, “for a school bus to carry black children to their schools” (“The SC Roots”).  Elliott’s only reason for not allowing the black children to ride was because, “blacks did not pay enough taxes to cover the expense”  (“The SC Roots”). Harry Briggs and nineteen other parents petition for desegregation but the U.S. District Court denied Briggs request “to abolish school segregation,” but the school board was forced to begin making the black and white schools in equal condition (Briggs v. Elliott). Mrs. Jordan mentioned this court case to me, without her telling me about this case, I would not have known about its importance in regard to school integration. According to Lowcountry Digital History Initiative,  “In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that de jure, or legal, racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional on the federal level through Brown v. Board of Education”  (“Introduction”).  This court case was a pivotal point for African Americans because it gave them hope for better education and equal school supplies and facilities.Across the nation, the local board of education for white schools took their time desegregating and integrating their schools on purpose.  Unsurprisingly, it took South Carolina over a decade to desegregate. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative states, “In South Carolina, school desegregation did not begin until 1963, when Judge Robert Martin ruled in Millicent Brown et al v. Charleston County School Board, District 20 to approve requests from Black students to be admitted to White schools”  (“Introduction”). Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Nelson were strong advocates for change; therefore, when they were given the opportunity to participate in Charleston’s first school integration at Rivers High School, they signed up for the spot. These two women were apart of the eleven teenagers that choose to integrate. The ladies discussed the many bad experiences they remembered while at Rivers High. Mrs. Nelson states, “We would be in a classroom and all the black kids would be in the front, all the white children in the back, having fun and having a party, but what got me was the teacher. She never said anything. She never told them it was not allowed and that we could not do that. Once we were on the outside, the terror they tried to envoc on us is one thing, the safe haven was the classroom, but there was no difference.” Mrs. Jordan shares a similar experience, she states, “At Rivers High, some of the white teachers were nice but majority of them were very racist. If you scored high on a test, you would get a different score on your report card. You couldn’t argue or point out your facts and if you showed your paper, they would make excuses.”  Though both women dealt with racism during their integration experience, they both agreed they would do it again, because it was, “the right thing to do.”

Though it may seem like Charleston was one of the latest cities in the state to segregate, Greenville was the latest to make the change. Greenville waited sixteen years to apply the Brown v. Board court case decision (Bainbridge). I find it interesting that Greenville took longer than Charleston to integrate because Charleston was a major part of the slave trade and slavery since the 1800’s. Though I know there were slaves in Greenville, I am unsure as to why their government was so receptive to implementing the court ruling.